


Snowy Holiday

by AgentClank



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Bad Weather, OC, Thematic Thursday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 13:20:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11276106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentClank/pseuds/AgentClank
Summary: Jack and Skye go on a vacation up in the Swiss Alps. What could go wrong?Submission for Thematic Thursday.





	Snowy Holiday

Jack's log. 6:06pm. Friday, December 6th. 

Hey there. Jack Savage here, live from Switzerland, with Skye. Say hi Skye!

_A female fox in a puffy parka waves in the background._

We're just back from a day of skiing. The Alps are truly a beautiful place.

So, dinner! Dinner with kitten at Restaurant zum Dörfli. Nice little place. A little out of the way, but hey, we're not short on time or anything. Waiting on a walnut salad and a salmon steak: no points for guessing which is whose, although I am gonna get to try a little of Skye's.

_He peers over at the fox for a second._

Anyway, we've been hanging out for a couple days now. After apprehending that launderer, Skye and I decided it was time for a little vacation, and hey, we're already here! So I called into the office and told them we'd like to take a week or two off, since we've been hard at it for a while now.

So far it's been a blast. We've had some fun on the slopes, went antique hunting, and had some fun under the covers. Met a few people, and I've picked up a few phrases of German.

Said people also directed us to an equipment rental, where we got information and gear. Tonight we're going to stay at the hotel, and tomorrow we're checking out and picking up more supplies before we head off mountain climbing. It's gonna be a wild time.

Anyway, enough with the blogposting. I'm gonna be making these video logs for you guys as we go on in the mountains. I'm told it's tough, but I'm sure we can handle it, no problem. We've done this before.

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah! After that we'll be returning to Zootopia for a new assignment. I haven't been back in a long time. Wonder what they have in store for us? We haven't gotten any briefings or anything. I suppose we'll see. It's a great city, I'll be happy to be back. Hope they've been keeping my apartment clean, we've been gone that long.

_A waiter shows up in the background with a tray._

Ooh, dinner's here. Talk later I suppose!

* * *

9:04am. Saturday, December 7th. 

So here we are! The base of the mountain.

Skye's over there, making sure our equipment and supplies are all in order. Our guide is a guy named Karl. _He notions over to a ferret testing out buckles._ Pretty big guy for a ferret, actually: taller AND thicker than me. Probably spends lots of time at the gym in addition to all the winter sports he probably does. Very friendly guy too.

Breakfast was at the hotel. Nothing super fancy, but it'll probably be our last good meal for a few days. I'll definitely be taking Skye out for a nice dinner after we're done, and it'll be way more enjoyable because of it.

Anyway, there are several cabins along the route that we're going to take, all the way up to our destination peak. We should have plenty of time to climb up to the next one before nightfall. Each cabin has a few things: a small generator, lights, _maybe_ firewood, beds, the usual stuff. Nothing fancy, and we have to bring up stuff such as our own food too, since it's winter. It probably won't come down to it, but we actually have a few sticks of butter to eat. Fun!

 

Once we finally reach the top, there's actually a cable car back down nearby, which is used by advanced skiers looking for a challenge, and which has been coopted for the mountain climbing path too. Should be a fun time getting there, and our load is significantly lightened because of it.

Alright, everything looks good to go. Catch you in a bit!

* * *

10:47am

This thing on? There we go.

_Jack flicks the camera up ahead._

Here we are at the start of the trail.

_Karl points up at the path in the background for Skye._

Looks like this first section's going to be a lot of walking. It's cool. It's a beautiful day out. Pretty sunny, yet not too warm.

_Skye and Karl wave in the background._

Hang on, I gotta catch up with the guys.

_The phone camera shakes around as Jack runs ahead._

"C'mon, what's the hold up there?"

Oh you know, just admiring the scenery I suppose.

_Karl raises his eyebrows, and nods his head._ " It is beautiful, isn't it?" 

Yeah. I'm amazed I can still see the leaves on these trees.

_He smiles._ "Well don't fall too far behind. I know where all the great lookout points are. We will stop by a lot of them. For now, get your snowshoes on."

Snowshoes?

"Yes. We're heading over there."

_Karl points to a crevasse, with outcropping of rocks and boulders._

"What's that, a cave?"

"Not quite, miss Skye. Not quite. You'll see."

* * *

11:32am

_Skye and Karl are in the background, pushing on._

Well, it's not quite a cave, but it does feel pretty cavelike, even if it is just a valley.

We ran into some other tourists a few minutes ago, taking pictures. This is quite an interesting morphology, actually. I've never seen shapes like it. Heck, there was an outcrop of bedrock a little further back. Good to see my geology class in college being used, I guess.

"Hey Jackie, come on!"

I should probably stop lagging behind so much.

_The feed is switched to the rear camera, as Jack runs to catch up with the fox and ferret. As he approaches, the lighting changes, as they round a corner and approach an exit. Coming out of it, a lens flare appears as the camera adjusts itself for brightness, and they step out from under the enclave into the sunlight._

"Alright, you're going to want to be ready for this."

_The ferret walks up to near the edge of a large surface, then clambers up onto it. Skye hops up shortly after him. The phone is tossed up to her before the bunny pulls himself up, taking it back shortly after. They step out from behind the boulder and..._

Whoa. That's... amazing.

_The three mammals are now on a small flat surface of rock covered in snow, overlooking a large panorama. To their left, the rocky path they'd just come from, with its various twists and turns, with some holes in between the rock. In front of them, they could see the mile or so they'd just climbed up: the chalets and roads still visible from here, with a snowmobile of sorts driving around below. In the distance, lots more mountains, forming various different shapes of peaks and rifts, some clear, some cloudy, all covered with various pines and firs and all covered with the winter snow. They take in the majestic sight for some time._

"Hecks yeah."

It really is something, isn't it?

_They take a few more moments to take in the view from this spot, as Skye grabs her own phone out of her bag and begins to shoot a few pictures._

"Ooh, hold on!"

_Skye presses on the screen a few times and sets the phone up on the side of the rock wall, trying to get it to balance. She motions towards Jack, who promptly hands over his phone to Karl, who absentmindedly keeps it pointed at the ground. The sound of camera snaps play as the phone takes bursts in 2 second intervals._

Oh, Karl, come here! Let's get a couple with you too.

"Me? Alright, sir."

_The camera traces the ground as the ferret gets in a few frames._

Okay, that's good. Here, I'll take that. _Jack points the camera back at him_ _self as the others grab their things and start heading back._

Well, off we go!

* * *

2:17pm

_The camera is pointing out at the view. The trio are now partway up an angled cliff._

Looks like we're about to start up again. I'm gonna try something. What's going to happen is-   
  
_Jack swaps over to the rear camera. The phone is then lifted up and slotted into a holster._  
  
-this is going to go here. On my chest. And we're going to go up this cliff. 30% should be enough battery, right?   
  
"Plenty."

"Alright, let's get moving."   
  
_The ferret starts scaling the wall, deftly pulling himself up one rock at a time. Skye then motions at Jack._  
  
"Ladies first."   
  
Hey!   
  
_She giggles. He starts forward and begins to climb too. He reaches up and pulls himself onto the ledge, the looks back down at Skye._  
  
"Careful there, don't wanna fall or anything."   
  
Oh, it's fine!   
  
_His paw reaches out and pulls the vixen up. Turning around, the ferret says good job, then points to the sky. The sun is starting to reach the top of a different mountain in the background, giving off a faint orange hue._  
  
"We've still got a little bit of time, but there is a way to go before we reach the hut, so no lollygagging!"   
_Skye nods._ _The trio continues up the mountain, the camera mostly pointed at the wall. Shortly afterwards, it's swung out to the setting sun in the distance, as Jack's left arm hangs out. Nothing much is captured apart from the front wall of the cliff,_ _and when he reaches the top, he just shuts it off_ _._

* * *

6:37pm

Well, here we are. Made it to our first hut. Just got the generator fired up and running, and we're about to settle in for dinner.

_Jack points the camera around, displaying the cabin they were in. It was a small structure, built out of logs and planks, with minimal decoration. There were some luxuries, such as a stove and a furnace, but not much else to it. Three bedrooms and one bathroom, along with an open space that the door led into. Some windows too, but not much of a view from here._

_Skye steps out of the kitchen with a pot._

Ramen?

"Yeah, ramen!"

... not what I was expecting, but okay.

_Karl is in the background, moving their backpacks around. He sets them down and turns around as Skye places their dishes on the table. They all sit down and start to eat. The phone is placed down on the table, facing upwards._

Looks like we're at about the maximum range of our cell coverage. I'm getting pretty spotty connection.

"Yes, just about. Good hustle out there today. I don't think we'll have any problem going forward."

"Great!"

"How do you feel?"

A little tired, but okay.

"Same. A good night's sleep should be more than enough though."

_They sit quietly for a while, eating their noodles. A wind picks up in the distance, creating a whooshing sound. The furnace crackles with the sound of firewood._ _Skye can be heard slurping up her noodles, as Jack can be seen leaning on his arm._  
  
"So, how are you guys finding Switzerland?"   
  
"Ooh, it's fantastic. We went skiing and shopping and visited a museum and everything. I mean, it's a bit of a cliche vacation, but hey, this is sort of impromptu time off anyway."   
  
Yeah. Speaking of cliche, we also got to try some Swiss chocolates. They really are as good as the stereotype.   
  
_The ferret chuckles._  
  
"How much did you pay for them, though?"   
  
_There's a slight pause._  
  
"Hahah, they are a bit of a tourist trap. Don't worry, enjoy your time here."   
  
Fair point.   
  
"Ooh, sweetie, you left the um-"   
  
Oh right! My mistake.   
  
_Jack grabs the phone and looks into the camera._  
  
So yeah! First night out in the wild. Hopefully everything goes as smoothly as today has, eh? Say bye, guys.   
  
_Skye and Karl wave in the background._  
  
Good night, everybody. 

* * *

7:38am. Sunday, December8th.   
  
_The camera turns on, starting out at the table. Slowly it's walked to the window, where outside a mild fog has appeared. There's a hint of ice on the window where there wasn't the day before,_ _and things are covered in a light layer of white_ _._  
  
Looks like we got some snow last night. Pretty.   
  
_The camera jerks as a meep is heard from the striped rabbit. It wobbles a little more, as the sound of fur being ruffled is heard nearby._  
  
"It sure is."   
  
_The camera is pointed at the fox. She turns around and calls out to Karl._  
  
"Hey um, this snow: it's not going to be a problem, is it?"   
  
_The ferret turns around from his equipment bag._  
  
"Happy you asked. It will make things a little more difficult, and we may have to brush off snow as we climb, but it's not a problem if we move safely."   
  
"That's good to hear."   
  
I'm actually surprised. I checked the weather reports before we left for this, and it should have been clear all the way through the week.   
  
"I did too. Sometimes it happens where a front doesn't move quite according to path. Not to worry, though, I have confidence that you two can do it."   
  
"Aw, thanks." _Skye elbows the ferret playfully._  
  
"We should get going soon. I hope you guys got enough to eat."   
  
Oh, yeah, sure. _Jack turns around to the camera._ So, see you guys at the next cabin. Jack out. 

* * *

11:20am  
  
And here we go.   
  
_A gloved paw is removed from in front of the phone's camera lens to reveal another view from a cropping. The trio are quite a ways up a cliffside, and the path they climbed is pointed out by the bunny's finger. It's a little hard to make out because of the fog, but they've traveled a fair bit of distance, and are quite high up now. Karl can be seen rolling up a rope, and Skye is off slightly in._  
  
You all good here?  
  
"Yep, no problem. I think we may stop for lunch soon."   
  
Sounds good.   
  
"Also, I think your friend is calling for you."   
  
_He motions towards the fox, and Jack turns around. He hops over to her._  
  
"Check it out. Found this in the limestone."   
  
_She brushes a little snow off it, to reveal a daisy-like flower, with a yellow center and white petals._  
  
Oh, pretty.   
  
"Yeah. Look at it, it's so fluffy."   
  
_He takes off his glove, and touches it,_ _feeling the bristles._  
  
It really is. Kinda hairy, actually.   
  
"Hey, here."   
  
She puts it into his front pocket and pats it down.   
  
"There you go. See if you can't keep it there until we reach the top, eh?"   
  
Hahah. No way.   
  
"Ahh, nice." _The ferret is walking over towards them._ "You found an edelweiss. Common flower up here in the mountains. Very pretty in the spring."   
  
"Mmm. What does the name mean?"   
  
"Roughly, it's 'noble white.' Pretty symbolic for people up here in the Alps.' _He points behind him._ 'Anyway, let's get going." 

"Right."

_He turns the camera back around to him._  
  
Jack out. 

* * *

5:10pm.   
  
Jack's log. Stardate five five seven nine one point three. We have arrived at our destination, codename: codename: Virginia.   
  
_He coughs._  
  
So anyway, here we are. It was a lot of walking to make it past that final stretch, but we did it.   
  
_The door opens, and Karl walks in with a kettle filled with snow._  
  
"Here you go."   
  
Oh, thanks.   
  
_He walks into the kitchen, and starts igniting the stove._  
  
There's also a bunch more walking we'll have to start out with tomorrow before we do any more actual climbing.

"All uphill too. Man, my legs would be amazing if I had to do that every day."    
  
_ Skye walks out of the bathroom as the camera turns around.  _   
  
Hey there.   
  
"Howdy."   
  
Want some tea?  
  
"Sounds good. I'll take two."   
  
_ Their ferret guide pops into the kitchen.  _   
  
"How are you both holding up? Good?"   
  
"Yeah, we're good."   
  
"Tired?"   
  
_ Jack chuckles.  _ Little bit.    
  
_ He smiles and nods.  _ "Good, good. Gets the blood pumping, keeps you warm while you're out."    
  
_ He turns around and motions towards the table.  _   
  
"There is something I want to show you guys. It's a map of where we're headed. Do you have a moment?"   
  
Okay.   
  
_ Jack turns to the camera. Back in a moment.  _   


* * *

8:30pm.   
  
_ Skye is sitting on an armchair in the corner, with her eyes closed, and Jack on her lap. She's leaning into the armrest with one elbow, the arm draped around Jack, and the other one stroking his head. Jack's leaning back into her chest, just under her muzzle. The room is quiet and dimly lit by a single halogen lamp hanging from the ceiling.  _   
  
Hey journal. We're about to go to bed. Karl is already asleep, in fact. Looks like we have a long day tomorrow. Gonna have to get up early and get moving pretty fast.   
  
_ Skye yawns in the background, before nuzzling Jack.  _   
  
Not much else to report. This has been a pretty fun trip so far. Guess we're going to head to bed.   
  
"Yeah. Let's do."    
  
Okie dokie.   
  
_ Jack gets up off of Skye and starts making his way to the bedroom. She yawns again and follows. The floorboards creak a little as they cross it. The wind picks up a little, and something flies by the window. Skye shuts off the light, and they head into the bedroom.  _   
  
Good night.   


* * *

7 : 27 a m.  Monday ,  December 9 th.    
  
_ T _ _ he camera comes online. Jack is geared up to go in his black and gray turtleneck, his coat and related buckles on the table behind him. Skye and Karl can be seen packing up the remains of their belongings in the background.  _ _ It's barely visible, but it's snowing outside the window,  _ _ and Jack is shivering a little.  _

Jack's log. Just gonna pop a quick update here before we head out.

_He points the camera out the window, providing a better view of the outside._

As you can see, we're actually getting more snow. It won't be so cold once we get moving, but it's probably going to impede our progress, so we'll want to keep moving to make it to the next stop. I'm hoping that it dies down after that.

_ The ferret motions towards the door. _ " Alright, let's go.  " 

Righto. I'll keep you updated as we go along. Jack out.

* * *

1:35pm

_ The camera turns on as a puff of Jack's breath covers the camera. _

Crap... hang on...

_ Something covers the lens and begins to scrub. It's lifted up to reveal the fuzz lining on Jack's coat. The sides of the lens are still blurry, but things are now visible. _

Jack here with a quick update. Looks like we're running into even more than previously thought.

_ The feed is swapped to the rear camera, and it's directed forward. They are now inside a cave of sorts. Outside is a path perpendicular to the cave, with a  _ _ cliff _ _ outside. There's heav _ _ ier _ _ snowfall going on, limiting visibility further beyond  _ _ the ledge _ _. The wind is howling and  _ _ visibly  _ _ throwing the snow  _ _ around, occasionally changing directions. _

This is highly unusual. I don't know where this is coming from.

_ He turns the camera around to Skye and Karl, who are sitting on their bags. _

Any thoughts, Karl?

"Not one."  _ He strokes his chin in a contemplative fashion. _

"Will we be okay?"

"Well, we can't turn back.  D istance wise we've gone further than it is to get to the safehouse up ahead. We can make it there,  just maybe not before sundown." 

_ The ferret turns around and looks outside the cave. _ "This is really  weird . There's no reason  snow this heavy should be  fall ing." 

_ Skye huddles up. _ "Well, as long as we make it." 

Right.  _ Jack swaps back to the front camera. _ Going to shut off now. Jack out. 

* * *

8:35pm

_ The camera powers up. Jack is sitting at the dining table, tired and a little shaken. In front of him a power bank and a cup of tea. The entrance to the hut is visibly messy, snow clearly having gotten in while the group was trying to. It's dark out the window, but the snow from the blizzard can be seen with the light from the room.  _   
  
Well, we made it. Somehow.   
  
_ He breathes a sigh of relief, and stares off into the distance.  _   
  
Geez, it's gotten really bad out there. Skye is sponging off right now, and Karl is making some food. A chunk of falling rock nearly took his head off earlier, but he was fast. I have a bad feeling that this is not going to let up.   
  
Karl says that unless the storm somehow clears up completely by tomorrow, we won't make it up to the next one. Not to worry though: they know we're up here, and we're decently stocked, so we can last a few days if need be. And this cottage has a tank of water, too.   
  
_ Jack looks around the room. The place is bigger than their previous cabins, with a full living room and an open kitchen. There's a hallway leading to a few bedrooms next to it, and on the adjacent wall a bookshelf with a few old novels. There's some decorations next to the fireplace too: a rug, a couple paintings, and a shotgun mounted over the fire.  _   
  
"Man, that's bad."  _ Karl steps out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of sandwiches. He's looking out at the blizzard, a frown on his face. Jack nods in agreement.  _   
  
What are we going to do? Think we have a chance tomorrow?   
  
"We will see. I hope you guys are ready to spend a day here if it doesn't, though. It might be a bit boring, but at least  we're in this one."  _ He points towards the bookshelf.  _ _ Jack chuckles.  _ _   
_   
I'll live. A bunch of times my work requires a lot of waiting.   
  
"Where do you work?"  
  
Let's call it accounting.   
  
"Cool. Pays well?"   
  
Pretty well, yeah.   
  
"That's fine, then. I used to work as a security guard for a while. Pay was so so, but let me tell you that takes a LOT of waiting. You get so bored, wanting to find anything to occupy your time with."   
  
Tough gig, I take it. I did too, back in college, but there I could actually study while on the job.   
  
"Very nice."   
  
"Oh hey, food. I'm starving."   
  
_ Skye steps out of the bathroom, closing the door and having a seat at the table.  _   
  
Hey there. Started without you, hope you don't mind.   
  
"Not at all."  _ She begins munching on a sandwich.  _   
  
"So, how bad does it look?"   
  
"Not so great. Not to worry, we'll figure it out. It's not my first snowstorm."   
  
"Alrighty. And how much further is the top? Should we go an..."   
  
_ Jack pulls back from the conversation and looks at the camera.  _   
  
I'm going to cut it short here. We'll see how it goes. Jack out.   
________________________________________________________________  
  
9:02am. Tuesday, Dec 1 0 th.   
  
_ The camera is facing the window. The storm hasn't let up from the previous day. The sky is gray and the snow is still falling, albeit a little lighter than before. Off in the distance dark clouds  _ _ c _ _ over a mountainside, and a general chill fills the air.  _   
  
Looks like we're in for a run of bad luck. The snow hasn't let up, and Karl isn't comfortable pushing ahead with this.   
  
_ The bun switches back to the front camera. He's dressed up warmly, a blanket wrapped around him and a hot drink in his hand.  _   
  
It's not so great out. We dug out the front door earlier. Skye and Karl have gone out scouting, and I'm here holding down the fort. We're not going to press ahead today, so they're going to see if they can figure out the weather.   
  
_ He takes a sip from his mug, then sets it down together with the phone, and begins to rummage through his bag. He pulls out a map, and sets it down on the table before fetching the phone.  _   
  
So  anyway, we're over here .  _ He points at the map. _ We're about the halfway point to the peak.  _ His finger trails through the pa _ _ ge _ _. _ This is where we're supposed to be headed. There's more climbing up ahead, and it's a more difficult path that any before, and Karl says that it's risky when it's snowing like this. 

_He sets the camera down._   
  
Anyway, that's about it for today. I'm going to melt more snow. Later.   


* * *

7:12pm.   
  
Hey y'all. Skye here. Looks like Jackie hasn't changed his phone combination in a while.   
  
_The camera tilts up to show a smiling vixen, her head cover in a skull cap with strategically placed extensions for her fox ears._  
  
"Hey, give me that!"   
  
_She chuckles as he tries to grab it, and lifts it out of her reach. Pointing it at them while keeping Jack away with her other hand, she winks and grins at the camera._  
  
What's up youtube. Today I'm going to be teaching you the fundamental techniques for bullying your bun!   
  
_Jack steps back and crosses his arms, huffing out a breath._  
  
Ahahah, okay, here you go, Jack.   
  
_She hands it over._  
  
Thank you.   
  
_The timestamp on the phone jumps about half an hour. A vaguely Swiss accented voice sounds up._  
  
"The snow's started up again."   
  
"Oh no."   
  
"Where is it coming from? That's what I want to know. Nothing nearby was forecast for anything like this."   
  
_Jack sighs and looks at the camera._  
  
Well, just our luck I suppose.   
  
_The rear camera is activated as he points it out the window. Snow has indeed started falling again, and the wind has picked up, shoving it every which way. The full moon is barely visible over the clouds, and the few trees on the right wave in the gusts. Something moves in the distance._  
  
Did you see that?   
  
"Hmm? See what?"   
  
Over there. _Jack points them to a spot near the trees. They stare for a good ten seconds._  
  
"What's over there?"   
  
"Yeah, I don't see anything."   
  
I don't know. Thought I saw something by the trees. Maybe it's nothing.   
  
"Alright. Never mind then, I suppose."   
  
_The ferret_ _shrugs, then_ _sighs. "It's pretty bad. Let's just get something to eat."_  
  
Good idea.   
  
_Jack hops down and switches the camera off._  


* * *

9:48am. Wednesday, Dec 11th.   
  
It's not getting better.   
  
_Jack steps out of the bedroom. Outside, the snow continues to fall. Inside, Karl and Skye are at the table, working. He steps over to them._  
  
So, aside from that, the radio we have is busted too.   
  
_The camera is pointed over to Skye, who shakes her head._  
  
"Any ideas?" _Karl_ _looks at her quizzically._  
  
"None. By all accounts there's nothing wrong with your radio. There's no reason it shouldn't turn on."   
  
"That's really strange."   
  
"You're telling me." *She sighs, leaning back.   
  
"Well, nonetheless, you guys have the satphones, right?"   
  
Yeah. If it comes down to it, we can use those. They won't cut through a heavy storm, though.   
  
"Alright."   
  
_They stare at each other silently for a few seconds._  
  
"Well, let's go clear out the snow in front."   
  
Alright. _He shuts the phone off._   


* * *

3:28pm.   
  
_ The feed shows Skye going through some of the books. She's dressed down, having gotten into full body pajamas given that they were staying for the time being.  _   
  
So, what do we have?   
  
"Hmm, nothing particularly outstanding, just some basic stuff. Tom Pawyer, Sherlock Holmes, some French literature, Harry Otter... ooh, Surftopia!" 

B oring. Did you bring your laptop? 

"Nooo... Maybe. Yes."  _ Skye takes a seat on the armchair.  _

Sweet. Maybe we can watch something. How much battery do you have in that thing anyway? 

"It goes for about eighteen on video. Let's wait for Karl to return." 

_ Jack harumphs.  _ Alright, fine. How long is he going to be again? 

"Not sure, but he said 2-3 hours." 

Okay then.  _ Jack slides up towards her and plants a kiss on her ear. Her ears perk up and she smiles a little.  _ How about some tea? 

"Sounds good." 

Alright. 

* * *

10 : 1 3 am.  Thursday , Dec 1 2 th.

" Where are we going?" 

_ The morning is still dark and cloudy. Outside, the snow has picked up again, with no end in sight. Inside, Skye and Karl are gearing up to head out.  _

" We need to get more firewood. By the looks of it this storm isn't letting up, an d it may get heavy enough that it'll get harder to find some."    
  
" Is that really possible?" 

"I don't know, but given everything so far, I'm not willing to take chances." 

"Good point. Jack, are you ready?" 

Yep, just going to leave a quick note here. 

"Alright, be quick." 

_He turns around to the camera._ Things aren't looking so great at the moment. We're going out to get firewood, just in case. We're still good on supplies, however at this rate I feel like it's going to get worse before it gets better. 

_He takes a deep breath and turns around. _

Alright. Let's do this. 

_ Karl nods, and opens the door. Snow blasts in along with gushes of win. Skye steps outside, paw in front of her face.  _

Jack out. 

* * *

4 : 07p m.

Hey there.

_By the fireplace now is a big pile of wood. Skye is resting off on the side, her face flushed red. It's already dark outside, and the blizzard rages on. The lights flicker a little, but the fire burns bright nonetheless._

Got the wood. Going to take a short break, since we're all  tired , but after that we have to dig out the entrance again. It looks like we're in here for a long haul. 

_Jack opens a candy bar and takes a bite out of it, his hand shaking the camera a little. He walks over and sits down next to Skye, putting an arm around her. She reciprocates in turn._

Not much else to say. This is some pretty bad weather. 

_He takes another bite out of his chocolate and sighs._

"We'll be fine." 

_He nods and rests his head on her lap._

* * *

7:19pm

It's me again. 

_The three mammals are cleaning up, having just had dinner. Karl is wiping down the dishes, while Skye is putting an extra log into the fire._

We're running out of battery on one of our power banks, and the other one is inexplicably not working, so I'm going to be a little conservative with this from now on. Not that we can use this anyway.

_He lets out a sigh. The building creaks a little as he walks over to their bags._

Gonna watch a movie in a bit. It's getting a little cold. Hoping the boiler works. 

_He pauses for a second._

Did you guys hear that? 

" Hear what?" 

I don't know, there was some kind of noise. Kind of staticky? 

"Um, no. Are you sure?" 

I think?  _He pauses._ Nah, you know what, nevermind.

* * *

1:33pm. Friday, Dec 13th.

 

  
_ The camera turns on in the middle of the blizzard. Jack's voice can barely be heard.  _

... out... etting firewood... Skye- down this cliff... unharmed, but- gone- get rope... dangerous... log ging off now-

_ The feed is shut off. _

* * *

5:12pm

"But yeah, I'm fine."

"Good."

_The camera points to Skye, who's getting a bruise bandaged by Karl. She looks to be in good condition, if a little shaken._

Update on that fall. Skye is okay. We're going to leave her in here for a bit though, while we deal with this.

_The camera is redirected towards the windows. Snow has piled up high enough that they are now slightly covered._

Going to have to clean that up. We're starting to accumulate enough that I'm worried we'll run out of space to move it to, and have to start trekking out with shovels to toss it elsewhere.

_Karl tosses him a headlamp, which he catches and puts on._

"You get some rest, Skye." 

"Alright. Holler if you need me."

* * *

3:07 p m.  Sunday , Dec 1 5 th.

_The camera points at Jack, sitting by the fireplace. He appears calm, but concerned at the same time._

Jack's log. Sunday, December 18 th . We're holding out, but with some provincial concerns. Food resources are okay, but we may run out of power for the generator in the house shortly. At that point we'll have to operate by the fireplace. Boiler will still work, but we're still getting snowed in pretty hard. 

_He stares out the window. It's clearly daytime, but the sky is dark and remorseless. Visibility is lowered to maybe a hundred feet at most. The windows are barely kept clear by their efforts, but snow mounds nonetheless due to piling up falling off the roof._

It's  a biting cold outside, so we're taking alternating turns going out to clear the entrance and coming back in here to warm up. 

_He pauses, contemplating something._

The weather won't let our satphones get a signal, and I'm worried.  Karl says we can't climb back down in this, and the path that mostly involves walking is a fair bit more distance. We  wouldn't be able to make it. 

_He sighs._

I'm going to go check on them. Jack out. 

* * *

6:12pm.  Wednes day, Dec  18 st .

Jack's log. December 21 st . Skye here. 

_She's slumped on top of the armchair. On top of her is Jackand Karl, the former quietly asleep while the latter has a side table next to him, examining his equipment and trying to figure out why it won't turn on. All three are buried under layers of blankets, huddled together for warmth. Outside, the window is covered up halfway through with snow, and blurry with frost. Nothing is visible outside the little cottage._

We've, uh, tried to keep things in order as much as possible. Clearing out as much snow as we can and melting it for water. Wood supply is good, but food is running low. I may have to eat one of these guys at some point.

_The ferret turns around, eyes bulging open. He backs his head away slightly._

Heheh, c'mon, man. Gallows humor. 

_He looks at her puzzled before chuckling a little._ "Sorry, I guess I'm  a little  on edge." 

I understand. 

_She turns back around to the camera._ I've moved a bed to out here by the fireplace.  _She motions the camera towards it._ We've been huddling together naked under as many layers as we have to preserve as much body heat as we can. I  thought at first that maybe we could exercise, but we need to preserve as many calories as we can to work during the day, lest we get buried. That was a dopey idea. 

_She looks out the window again. She thought she saw something passing by it, but quickly dismissed the notion._

Anyway, we're going to get more wood tomorrow. It'll be time sensitive, as we only have so many batteries for our flashlights. I'll sign off here. Skye out. 

* * *

7:34pm. Friday, Dec 20th.

_Jack turns on the camera._

Friday, December 20 th . No reprieve in sight. The guys are starting to crack a little. Snow just won't stop coming. 

_He turns around and stares in the distance. His expression is neutral, but there's a fear in his eyes._

I hope we make it. 

* * *

2:22pm. Monday, Dec 23rd.

_The image flickers on, the speaker exploding with the sound of rotating blades as the focus adjusts itself. Jack comes into view, wearing a headset and covered in blankets. He waves at the shaky camera, cracking a slight smile before closing his eyes and breathing out a sigh._

_Swapping over to the rear camera, he points it up, revealing the inside of a large helicopter. Sitting in front of him are two otters, both in bright orange vests and helmets bearing the first aid cross. Swiveling to the right reveals a deer and a mongoose examining Skye's leg. Karl is further in the back, huddled up in blankets too._

_He fumbles with the phone before turning it off._

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly experimental. This was originally going to be something like a journal, but it somehow ended up a little bit like a script for a "found" footage piece. Not completely happy with it, so let me know what you think.


End file.
